Articles Posted in Trucking Rules

A coalition of trucking, environmental and safety organizations has filed suit seeking an injunction against implementation of the Bush Administration’s decision to allow up to 100 Mexican motor carriers – with an unlimited number of trucks – to perform long-haul operations within the U.S.  The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Sierra Club; Public Citizen; the Environmental…

Fri., 3/9/07, Calhoun, GA.  In a scene reminiscent of the 1982 Paul Newman movie, “The Verdict,” the jury after three hours of deliberation Thursday afternoon sent a note to the judge asking if they were limited by the amount the plaintiff asked for.   In closing argument I had asked for a verdict of approximately…

    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations often referred to in cases where tired truckers wreck include the following:     49 C.F.R. § 392.3, Driver Impairment. No driver shall operate a commercial motor vehicle, and a motor carrier shall not require or permit a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle, while the driver’s ability…

A recent confidential survey of commercial truck drivers reports that 77 percent admitted to deliberately violating the hours of service regulations in the past, and that 55 percent said they were still breaking the rules.  Drivers report that the most common violation is logging time as off-duty when actually on-duty (78 percent). Other common violations…

Fortunately no one was injured when the driver of an 18-wheeler mail truck fell asleep on I-75 near Macon at 3:30 AM, over-corrected when he woke with a start, and went over an embankment.  However, two of three northbound lanes were closed several hours and the GA DOT will have to replace a guard rail. …

Recent articles in the New York Times and Chicago Tribune critique the causes of safety problems in the current trucking industry.  Much of the focus of the Chicago Tribune article is on the Bush Administration’s decision to increase the permissible driving hours and working hours for truck drivers.  The New York Times article digs a…

In a petition filed in court on Dec.5, five groups – The Truck Safety Coalition, comprised of the Teamsters; Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways; Parents Against Tired Truckers; Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety; and Public Citizen – asked the court to review the revised hours-of-service (HOS) rule that was issued by FMCSA on…

I have nothing against anyone with an impairment of vision or hearing.  I couldn’t live in my house if I did.  But sometimes safety trumps equal opportunity. One of those circumstances is in the operation of 80,000 pound tractor trailers at 70 mph on public highways.  Recently we encountered a situation in which a truck…

The MCS-90 is an endorsement on a trucking company’s liability insurance policy, required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which serves the function of a surety for safety of the public. Even if the the trucking company is not entitled to liability coverage due to some exception or exclusion in the insurance policy, an…

During the first half of the twentieth-century, interstate motor carriers attempted to immunize themselves from liability for negligent drivers by hiring inadequately insured, risky trucks and their drivers – like C&C and the Carnleys in this case.  The companies would classify the drivers who operated the trucks as “independent contractors,” and disclaim any association when…